Monday, June 15, 2015

I'm in shock. It's been a whirlwind week-and-a-half, and I'm still getting used to the fact that the seemingly impossible has become reality.

On this momentous Monday morning, Jeremy Corbyn received nominations from more than a dozen MPs. In doing so, he overcame the formidable hurdle put in front of him by party rules and became the fourth candidate on the ballot paper upon which the next leader of the Labour party will be elected. Jeremy will participate in public hustings and televised debates over the summer, and will surely make the most of the inestimable opportunity that has come his way to make the crucial case against austerity.

Ben Sellers rightly describes this as an astounding achievement. Jeremy's candicacy came about because activists, dissatisfied with the lack of effective opposition to Tory rhetoric about public spending and austerity among leadership candidates, demanded the opportunity to vote for a genuine alternative. When, in response, Jeremy announced that he would run, his chances of chances of getting onto the ballot were seen as remote.

Thousands upon thousands of tweets, poll votes, petition signatures, letters and emails to MPs later, and here we are, in a position to effect real change. Everyone who has participated in this extraordinary grassroots effort has helped to demonstrate that Labour in 2015 has the potential to be a movement again. Now, the real campaigning starts...

Contributors

About the authors

Ian: Occasional political blogger, motivated to restart by the outcome of the 2015 election and the need for more reasoned debate and less polarisation. Believer in egalitarianism and in personal freedom. I don't call myself a libertarian any more these days.

Newcastle - Oxford - London - Macclesfield

Glenn:First blogged about student protests in 2010, now back in search of a platform for his left-wing views. Supports voting reform and the NHS. Against austerity and TTIP.